The west shore begins at the low Barbers Point and trends northwest for 22 miles to the prominent Kaena Point and its 750 foot high ridge. There are 28 mile of shoreline, alternating between sandy beaches, beachrock, raised Pleistocene reefs, and in the north the basalt of the Kaena Point region. The 26 beaches occupy 9 miles (33%) of the shore, the remainder is dominated by rock. The shore's westerly orientation permits north through west winter swells to reach the shore in the winter period as well as southerly summer swells. The result is year-round low to moderate surf punctuated by frequent periods of dangerous high surf. Trade winds typically prevail offshore. Due to the generally deeper inshore reefs, many of the surf breaks are close to shore.